Tuesday, April 7, 2009

What makes today’s games and movie special effects so realistic? It’s the accurate depiction of the laws of physics in the simulation - the scattering of debris in an explosion, collision between cars, movements of the human beings, are all so flawlessly depicted that it makes an animation look real.

NaturalMotion Endorphin is an animation software that can be used to generate hyper-realistic computer simulations of human motions. Endorphin offers an entirely new approach to 3D animation, and is the only character animation software to utilize dynamic motion synthesis (DMS), a technology based on artificial intelligence controllers that imitate the human nervous system. Using a combination of physics, artificial intelligence and genetic algorithms it's possible to create a large number of independent characters interacting with each other and the world according to different behaviours.

Unlike conventional 3D animation software that uses keyframes or motion capture to generate animation, Endorphin’s DMS technology, uses the CPU to simulate the brain and body of 3D characters, which allows animators to synthesize human movements in real time. This allows the animators to produce fully-interactive 3D characters that essentially animate themselves with real-life movements. The animations created using Endorphin tend to be different every time the scene is replayed. Endorphin not only greatly reduces the burden on animators, it saves a dramatic amount of production time.

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NaturalMotion’s physic engine is available in two forms – one as a desktop 3D animation tool for Windows (Endorphin) and the other as a game engine (Euphoria). Both Endorphin and Euphoria has been used in a number of movies like Troy and Poseidon, and games like Grand Theft Auto, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Pro Evolution Soccer etc.

NaturalMotion Endorphin Learning Edition is a full, free version (registration required) of Endorphin with the exact same features found in Endorphin 2.7. The only difference between the original software and the free edition is that you cannot export the motion file from the software thereby preventing it’s use in commercial purposes. You can however export your animation as a movie in the AVi format.